Michigan Grabs An Impressive Come-From-Behind Win At Wisconsin, 67-59
Did you miss any of today's impressive Michigan Wolverines basketball win at Wisconsin? We have the complete recap below of the Maize and Blue's come-from-behind 67-59 triumph at the Kohl Center.
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First Half
Wisconsin jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead today, before Michigan went on a 5-0 run of its own and tied the game on a three-pointer from senior forward Isaiah Livers. That's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout.
Badger fifth-year senior forward Aleem Ford got off to a red-hot start, draining a triple at the 12:38 mark to put his club up 12-10. He had eight points at that juncture. Ford drilled another three-pointer at the 11:29 mark, giving UW a slight 15-12 edge.
That's where the score stood at the under-12 media timeout. Michigan was shooting just 31 percent at that point. Livers went on a 6-0 run of his own with back-to-back threes, the second of which tied the game up at 20.
The Badgers pushed their margin to 29-24 with 4:55 remaining in the half. One positive aspect for the Wolverines was that they only had one turnover at that point. Fifth-year senior forward Micah Potter connected on a triple at 4:35 to stretch Wisconsin's lead 32-24, however.
UW was five-of-seven from deep following Potter's triple, and Wisconsin led 34-24 at the under-four timeout. Fifth-year senior guard D'Mitrik Trice hit three free throws with only 27 seconds left in the half to give UW its biggest lead of the game at that point, at 39-25.
The free throws signified a 12-1 run by the Badgers. Livers at least gave U-M a little momentum on its final possession, draining a deep two-pointer with two seconds remaining to make the score 39-27 at the break.
It was a poor first 20 minutes for the Maize and Blue, with Michigan hitting just 34 percent of its shots and allowing Wisconsin to connect on 54 percent of its attempts.
Second Half
Livers got the second half started with an easy lay-in, cutting Wisconsin's edge to 39-29. Michigan cut it to eight, however, when fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith made an and-one at 18:03, making it 43-35.
U-M trimmed Wisconsin's advantage to six (43-37) with a layup from senior guard Eli Brooks in transition, making it 43-37. That's where the score stood at the under-16 timeout.
Sophomore guard Franz Wagner nailed a crucial triple at 14:05, which cut the Badger margin to just three, at 45-42. Every time U-M grabbed some momentum, Wisconsin quickly grabbed a bucket, with freshman guard Jonathan Davis' floater at 12:34 then stretching it back to 49-42 being the perfect example.
The Badgers' lead was 49-44 at the under-12 timeout. The Wolverines continued to chip away, with two free throws from Brooks making it 51-48 with 8:35 left in the game. UW's lead was 53-48 at the under-eight timeout, though U-M was shooting just 39 percent from the field.
Freshman center Hunter Dickinson finally gave Michigan the lead with 5:05 left, draining two free throws to put the club up 54-53. Wisconsin immediately went back up 57-54 though.
The Maize and Blue answered beautifully, with Livers hitting a clutch three-pointer at 2:48 to put Michigan on top 59-57. The play was made possible by a massive offensive rebound by Dickinson earlier in the possession.
Wagner brought the Maize and Blue even closer to victory with a running floater with just 59 seconds left to put Michigan up 63-59. The Badgers couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch due to U-M's stifling defense, and weren't able to chip into the Wolverines' lead as a result.
UW ended the game by missing its last seven shots. Michigan sealed the victory at the free throw line with senior guard Chaundee Brown draining a crucial one to make it 65-59 with 23 seconds remaining, and then Brooks officially ending things with two of his own with just 10 seconds left to seal the 67-59 win.
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